Carbon County Friends of Animals will soon have a new "furever" home.

On Wednesday, the nonprofit organization closed on the purchase of its new facility, the former Carbon Career and Technical Institute adult education building at 77 W. 13th St., Jim Thorpe. CCFOA was the sole bidder for the building, which went up for sale in March.Kimmy Mulik, a board member of CCFOA, said the building is the perfect location for the shelter because it will give the cats room to spread out, instead of being confined in the small building CCFOA is currently housed in."Our furry friends will now be able to roam freely, in confined areas (within the building), without being caged," Mulik said. "This will allow them to become more socialized and will reduce their stress levels."She said approximately 150 cats and kittens currently call CCFOA home, and many are confined to their cages because the current location just doesn't have enough space.Mulik said the group is still a little shy of reaching enough money to cover the purchase price of $260,105, but members are working on raising the money."We will be holding a fundraiser event in the future for our building fund since CCFOA had to take some of its own funds to complete the sale, as we did not have the full purchase amount," she said. "Anyone who is interested in making a donation may do so at any time."Mulik thanked the many CCFOA supporters who gave to the project, raising over $200,000 to make this purchase a reality."Without their donations, we would never have been able to purchase the new building," she said. "We would also like to thank attorney Michael Greek, Mike Tirpak of Carbon Engineering and Dave Kost, former maintenance director of CCTI and currently on the school board."Each of these individuals have helped us tremendously throughout this entire process, and we are forever in their debt. We never would have been able to proceed with the purchase without their assistance. No words can express our gratitude."CCFOA is not sure as to when their feline friends will be moving into the new location at this time.CCFOA is currently located at 900 Walnut Ave., Jim Thorpe.For more information on CCFOA, on ways to help the cats or to adopt or donate, visit ccfoa.info or call 570-325-9400.Monetary donations or supplies are always welcome and can be dropped off at the shelter during business hours or can be made online.